1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a water craft for personal recreational use, in which the water craft employs a hydrofoil lift system.
2. Description of Related Art
Personal water craft (PWC) vehicles have enjoyed immense popularity in recent years. PWCs generally allow one, two or more riders to sit, kneel or stand on the craft and to ride across the surface of a body of water. The popularity of PWCs is also attributable to the considerations that they are less expensive than traditional power boats, are more easily transported over land by smaller trailers, and storage and maintenance of the PWCs is generally simpler than with full size power boats.
The popularity of such craft, and their operational characteristics, have led to several significant problems. The sheer number of such craft on some popular bodies of water has led to congestion, which adversely impacts safety. More significantly, existing PWC designs generate substantial noise, water, wake and air pollution. These PWCs have disproportionately large engines, with current models having 110+ horsepower engines, and, in the quest for increased speed, the power plants are only likely to become more powerful, in the absence of regulation. The hull form of current PWCs generates substantial wakes, which are a disturbance and a nuisance to other users of the waterways, and can adversely affect the safety of operating craft, both PWCs and boats.
Planing hulls are used in most recreational water craft, including PWCs. The planing hull design has been popularized due to its ability to permit craft operation at speeds in excess of the craft's natural hull speed. These hulls produce a downward reaction in the water by impacting the surface of the water with a low aspect ratio wedge, which produces large wakes.
The problems and costs associated with wake generation cannot be underestimated. The U.S. Coast Guard regulates speed, and holds operators of water craft responsible for damage due to wakes. Enforcement of the regulations is problematic, as wakes from motor boats can travel large distances before being encountered and causing damage, and identification of the offending vessel is often difficult. Wakes can also impair the operation and control of other water craft, with resulting detrimental impacts on safety. Wakes further can cause damage to docks and docked water craft.
The prevalent PWCs employ a water jet as the propulsion means. Water jets are prone to generating large amounts of noise pollution, in that, due to wave action and the presence of wakes, the PWC frequently lifts from the water sufficiently to break the intake suction of the jet. Noise volume and pitch increase as a result, due to the jet ingesting and expelling air.
Various other water recreation devices have been employed over the years, most notably water skis. Many other towed devices, ranging from inflated tubes to bicycle style devices employing hydrofoil lift have been used or proposed for use. U.S. Pat. No. 3,105,249, discloses a device meeting the latter description. All such devices suffer from the drawback that a motor boat must be used to propel (pull) the device. The motor boat, like the PWCs discussed above, is noisy, uses a planing hull which creates substantial wakes, and pollutes the water.
Other watergoing vehicles have been proposed which employ hydrofoils as part of the lift or control system of the craft. Hydrofoils are usually utilized to permit operation of a water craft in excess of speeds efficiently attainable with conventional hull forms. Often, hydrofoils have been proposed for use with hulled craft, whereby the craft will travel at low speeds using the displacement of the hull, and, at higher speeds, lifted partially or completely out of the water on a hydrofoil.
The high speeds attainable with hydrofoils are accomplished in that a hydrofoil provides a more efficient means of providing the lift necessary to float or ride on the water. Conventional displacement hulls simply displace a volume of water equal to the weight of the vehicle. Planing hulls displace water at lower speeds, and, at higher speeds, provide a crude form of lift by impacting the water downwardly, elevating the craft from the water and permitting higher speeds.
There continues to exist a need for an efficiently operating personal water craft (PWC) vehicle that avoids or minimizes the environmental impacts resulting from the widespread use of planing hulled craft. Further, efforts are ongoing to improve the recreational experience of such craft, which, in the conventional, planing hull PWC design, can largely be achieved only through increasingly powerful engines to provide increased speed.
A principal object of the present invention is thus to provide a PWC design which provides many, if not all, of the benefits of existing PWC designs, but which eliminates or significantly reduces the noise, water, air and wake pollution associated with the operation of conventional PWCs, principally through the elimination of the hull structure and the reliance on the use of hydrofoil lift for the craft.
It is a further principal object of the present invention to provide a PWC design that is more efficient in operation and has much lower power requirements, for equivalent on-water performance, as compared with conventional PWC designs.
It is an additional important object of the present invention to provide a fast and dynamic vehicle that may operate legally in waterways in which other, larger powered water craft have been or may be restricted by laws or regulations limiting the available motor power.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a PWC design which is convenient and enjoyable to use, and is easy to maintain and transport.